Rape; Law Reform; Honour

Following significant advocacy by WLP Morocco/ADFM and other Moroccan women’s rights organizations, on January 8, 2014, the Moroccan Parliament finally adopted the draft law to amend article 475 of the Criminal /penal Code, which allowed rapists to escape prosecution if they married their victim. This article has mainly been used to justify the traditional practice of pressuring the victim to marry her rapist in the name of “preserving the honor of the girl’s family.” This new amendment removes the second paragraph of the article, lifting the immunity of the rapist and preventing him from marrying his victim.